SAFA Free State has commented on Mathaithai FC’s withdrawal from the provincial ABC Motsepe League with the club citing years of unpaid grants by the SA Football Aassociation and lack of sponsorship.
The Botshabelo-based outfit officially announced its exit from the South African third tier on Monday, 9 March 2026.
According to the club, they formally notified the provincial mother body of their intention to withdraw on 2 March. The request was accepted by the SAFA Free State Competitions Committee two days later.
Mathaithai leaves the league while sitting 13th on the log standings, having collected 27 points from 21 fixtures.
In their statement, the club revealed that they are owed substantial figures by SAFA, spanning their time in the SAB League [now known as the Hollywoodbets Regional League] through to their current stint in the ABC Motsepe League.
The club also confirmed they reached out to the office of the Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, but those engagements yielded fruitless results.
“Mathaithai FC officially and sadly announces its continual withdrawal from participation for the remainder of the 2025/2026 Free State ABC Motsepe League. Our initial decision to participate was guided by our unwavering commitment to the sport, our loving Botshabelo and Free State community, hoping the club would attract sponsors and that SAFA Free State would miraculously pay the club its five years’ debt totaling a serious amount of money,” reads the club’s statement.
WHY MATHAITHAI FC REQUESTED TO BE WITHDRAWN FROM ABC MOTSEPE LEAGUE
“In our endeavours to continue having the team participate for the remainder of the season, the club, through our chairman, privately engaged the Municipality, Confederation, and Minister of Sports, Recreation, and Arts & Culture, Mr Gayton McKenzie, to urgently intervene, but nothing came out of these engagements.
“In order to preserve the integrity of both the club and the Free State ABC Motsepe League, the club, on March 2, 2026, wrote to SAFA Free State requesting that it be withdrawn from continual participation for the remainder of the season. This request was given the green light by the SAFA Free State competition committee on March 4, 2026, and confirmed on Sunday, March 8, 2026, with the release of the amended new fixture lists that do not feature Mathaithai FC.
“It was increasingly becoming impractical for the club to continue participating in the current season. The club is owed positional prize money, travel subsidies, and referees’ fees by SAFA Free State, starting from the SAB League [two seasons] to the current ABC Motsepe League [sixth season]. These funds are expected to mitigate the club’s constantly increasing costs, especially with one stream.”
MATHAITHAI FC STILL KEEN TO NEGOTIATE WITH SAFA TO SETTLE DEBT
The club added: “The club remains committed to engaging SAFA on the debt subject matter going forward. The status is not sold and remains our responsibility. We shall update developments as they occur.
“This is a very painful determination to arrive at, especially for our chairman, management, staff, players, and genuine supporters. It is, however, evident that football development is under serious attack, and we shall continue to lose quality clubs because of ongoing non-payments by SAFA.
“We cannot spend so much time and money to run clubs and be expected to play for sweet nothing in this demanding economy. We have set an unbelievable standard and identity as a team, but the frustrations from SAFA are just too much to bear.
“Power and systems are killing the game, and we are not yet ready to collectively confront the disguising elephant in the room as football people, but the time shall come.”
WHAT SAFA FREE STATE SAID ABOUT MATHAITHAI FC WITHDRAWAL
Speaking to FARPost, Lehlohonolo Maduna—a member of the Competitions Committee and SAFA Free State Media Manager—clarified the jurisdictional boundaries regarding the league’s administration.
“All ABC Motsepe leagues in all provinces are the responsibility of SAFA National, and the Free State Football Association is supervising the league in this regard in the province,” Maduna told FARPost.
“However, it’s unfortunate that Mathaithai FC withdrew from the ABC Motsepe League, while SAFA National is working around the clock to secure funds to help ABC Motsepe clubs moving forward.”
RELATED STORY: Match abandoned after penalty awarded in Limpopo ABC Motsepe League